NAPERVILLE-- Friday’s theft of a valuable two-month-old Pomeranian puppy was an inside job, police have determined.
Two now-former employees of the Petland store at 720 S. Route 59 allegedly “conspired with a mutual acquaintance” to steal the male, red sable dog valued at $1,495, Naperville police Cmdr. Dave Hoffman said.
Anais M. Marquez and Karlie A. Pellock, both 19, of Plainfield, are charged with misdemeanor retail theft, Hoffman said. Both are free on bail.
Still at large is Emanuel Lopez, 19, of Plainfield, believed to be the man who spirited the pup out of the shop. It is his image captured by store surveillance cameras.
An examination of court records indicated Lopez was arrested July 13 by Naperville police on a misdemeanor charge of retail theft. He pleaded guilty Sept. 27 and was fined and received court supervision, although records indicated the sentence was revoked Dec. 6 after he failed to pay the fine.
Hoffman said a police investigation revealed Marquez and Pellock conspired with Lopez “to steal the dog and sell it to them for $60.” Both women were working in the store at the time of the crime, he said.
Store co-owner Mike Isaac said late Wednesday afternoon by telephone he is “quite shocked.”
“It’s very much disappointing to us, as owners, to hear of this,” he said. “We would’ve never expected a person of what we like to consider a member of our family to be a part of this. It’s unfortunate they decided to make such a poor choice.”
Isaac said Pellock and Marquez had both worked in the shop for about three weeks, and “had not had any employment issues.” Both have been fired, he said.
The pup was taken just before 11 a.m. Friday by a man who expressed interest in playing with and possibly buying the animal. The man, now identified as Lopez, fled from the shop with the dog after allegedly distracting an employee.
A 45-year-old Plainfield woman and her teenage son to return the puppy to the store just before 2 p.m. Monday. Stachowiak and Isaac confirmed the pup was the one in question by scanning it for an identifying microchip that had been inserted beneath its skin prior to the theft.
The woman said several young men came to the door of her home with the dog inside a cardboard box. She intervened when the youths announced their intention to anonymously leave the box and the puppy overnight on Petland’s doorstep.
“I said, ‘Well, that’s wrong,’” the woman said, arguing to the men that the animal could become sick in the cold or get out of the box and run away before the shop opened for business. “I said, ‘I’ll take it back,’” the woman said.
Police released the woman and her son without charges after interviewing them Monday inside the store.
The puppy is now back at the shop, following an examination by a veterinarian and a two-day quarantine.
Isaac and Stachowiak vowed that when the pup finds its home, they will donate the net proceeds from the sale to the Naperville Police Department’s K-9 unit.
Marquez and Pellock have arraignment dates pending in DuPage County Circuit Court in Wheaton.
A $10,000 warrant is issued for Lopez on a felony charge of retail theft.
Copyright 2008 STNG Wire, The Chicago Sun-Times. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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